Catalytic cracking process and separation means within reactor



W; K. ROQUEMORE ETAL CATALYTIC CRACKING PROCESS AND SEPARATION MEANS WITHIN REACTOR May 12, 1959 Original Filed March ].0, 1955 7'0 FRACT/OIVATOR 0 m1. ONE $5. 4 was 27 DISPERSE PHASE /9 I80 7 7 flue-us: Pluss 'STR/PPER ZONE /6 GRID Pl. A TE 1111111 11 1%111111 r/f111111 1f11 v STEAM STE/Ml INVENTORS.

Frank/m M. Orr, By William K. Raquemore,

+ 70 R565)!!!" ran on TAL YST 4N0 0/L FEED United States Patent CATALYTIC CRACKING PROCESS AND SEPARA- TION MEANS WITHIN REACTOR William K. Roquemore and Franklin M. Orr, Baytown, Tex.', assignors, by mesne assignments, to Esso Research and Engineering Company, Elizabeth, NJ., a corporation of Delaware Original application March 10, 1955, Serial No. 493,390. Divided and this application April 13, 1956, Serial No. 578,138

3 Claims. (Cl. 208-163) vessel providedwith means for maintaining a seal in said vessel.

This application is a divisional application of US. Serial No. 493,390, filed March 10, 1955, for Franklin M. Orr and William K. Roquemore. 1

The present invention may be briefly described as a catalytic reaction vessel having at least one inlet at its lower end for introduction of catalyst and oil thereto and at least one outlet at its upper end for removal of products therefrom. The reaction vessel is provided with at least one cyclone separator arranged at the upper. end of the vessel having a dip leg 'which is adapted to return finely divided catalyst separated from a disperse phase in the upper portion of the vessel to a dense phase in said vessel below said disperse phase. The dip leg of the cyclone separator has a cylindrical sleeve open on its upper end surrounding the lower end of the dip leg providing a quiescent zoneon the lower end of the dip leg and sealing the dip leg. The sleeve has at least one opening adjacent its lower end for flowof gasiform material and fluid through the opening, with the sleeve being closed on its lower end by a splash plate whereby finely divided catalyst returned to the dense phase by the dip leg impinges against the splash plate before returning to.

the dense phase.

, The sleeve arranged on the lower end of the dip leg may suitably have a diameter in the range between about 1.5 and 2.5 times the diameter of the dip leg. A preferred diameter of the sleeve is about 2 times the diameter of the dip leg. I t

For, eflective operation of our invention, the dip leg may extend a suitable distance below the open upper end of the sleeve in the range between about 0.5 and 5.0 times the diameters of the dip leg with the preferred distance of thedip leg extendin gbelow the upper end of the sleeve being in the range between about 1 and about 3 times the diameter of the dip leg.

The splash plate which closes the lower end of the sleeve should be arranged a distance from the lower open end of the dip leg between about 0.5 and about 4 times the diameter of the dip leg with a preferred distance being in the range between about 1 and about 2 times the diameter of the dip leg;

Arranged adjacent the lowerend of the sleeve are a plurality of openings which suitably may comprise be-. tween about 50% and about 90% of the annular area between the .dip leg-and the sleeve. It is preferred that the opening or openings in the sleeve comprise between about 60% and about 80% of the annular area between the sleeve and the dipleg. 1 While only one opening may p of about 0.3 pound per cubic foot.

2,886,519 Patented May 12, 1959 be employed, a plurality of openings arranged on the pe riphery of the sleeve may be used. The opening may suitably be a slot which may extend around the periphery of the sleeve or, as stated before, may be a plurality of openings having any'shape as may be desired. A plurality of arcuate openings have been found to be satisfactory.

The present invention will be further illustrated by reference to the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view in section showing the apparatus of the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view in detail of the apparatus of Fig. l.

Referring now to the drawing in which identical numerals will be employed to designate identical parts, numeral 10 designates a catalytic cracking reaction vessel of the fluidized type wherein finely divided catalyst is suspended in the vaporized hydrocarbon feed to be reacted. The reaction vessel 10 is provided with a first inlet 11 by way of which catalyst suspended in the vaporized hydrocarbon feed is introduced and numeral 12 designates an outlet by way of which cracked products are routed to a fractionating system, not shown. The

outlet 12 is arranged in the upper end of the vessel. A- second outlet 13 controlled by a valve14 is provided for withdrawing spent catalyst from the lower end of vessel 10. 4 I The vessel 10 has a cylindrical member 15 arranged therein which defines anannular stripper 16. A grid thedense phase 18 is a disperse phase 19. I By way of explanation, the dense phase 18 contains the major amount of catalyst in the reaction vessel 10 and the cracking reaction takes place therein whereas the disperse phase 19 contains a minor amount of catalyst. The dense phase may contain a sufiicient amount of catalyst to provide a density'of about 30 pounds of catalyst per cubic foot, whereas the disperse phase may contain only a sufficient amount of catalyst to provide a density The inlet line 11 connects to a funnel-shaped member 20 which, in turn, is connected to the cylindrical member 15 for introduction of catalyst and feed hydro.-

carbon into the dense phase 18. Below the funnel-shaped member 20 is a relative quiescent space 21 which is maintained subtantially free of catalyst by introduction to the dense phase 13, the catalyst being introduced from is introduced into the stripper 16 from the dense phase 18 by way. of ports 26 which extend around the periphery ofthe lower. end of the cylindrical member 15.

; Arranged in the upper end of the vessel 10 are a plu-- rality of cyclone separators generally designated by'the numeral 27 andcomprising serially interconnected cy-x clo'ne separators 28, 29, and 30, separator 28 being 'the'- primary stage, separator 29 being the secondary stage, and separator 30 being the tertiary stage; separator 28'is connected to separator 29 by conduit 31 and separator 29 is connected to separator 30 by conduit 32, and separator 30 is connected by conduit 33 to a connection head 34 which connects to outlet line 12. Each of the separators 28 29, and 30 may be a plurality of separators and maybe arranged in banks of five as may be desired.

Each separator 28, 29, and 30 is provided with diplegs 35, .36 and 37 for return of finely divided cataly st 3 the disperse phase 19 into the primary stage separator 28 through an inlet 28'.

, The lower end of each of the dip legs 35, 36, and 37 are surrounded by cylindrical sleeves 38, 39 and 40 which are open on their upper ends and closed on their lower ends by splash plates 41, 42 and 43. Splash plates 41 and 42 rest on the grid 17 while the sleeve 40 forms its 'own support, splash plate 43 being arranged above the'grid plate 17 as shown. Peripherally arranged adjacent the lower end of the sleeves 38, 39 and 40 are arcuate openings 44 which allow flow of fluid from the dip leg and sleeve into the dense phase 18, the area of the openings 44' being sufiicient to provide a slight differential from the sleeve into the dense phase 18.

The'dip legs 35, 36 and 37 are suitably sized to accommodate the amount of catalyst as it is discharged from the primary, secondary, and tertiary cyclone separators 28,29 and 30, respectively. Thus the dip leg 35 may have an inside diameter of about inches, the dip leg 36 may havean inside diameter of about 8 inches and the dip leg 37 may have an inside diameter of about 6 inches. The sleeves 38, 39 and 40 may vary in diameter but generally are about the same diameter such that as the size of the dip leg decreases the annular area between'the sleeves and the dip leg increases.

It is understood, however, that, while we have given numerical values for the size of the dip leg, some variation is possible and the size may suitably be selected to accommodatethe amount of catalyst to be returned to the dense phase.

The present invention has been particularly useful in fluid catalytic cracking of residual stocks, such as deasphalted oil obtained by solvent deasphalting of reduced crudes and residues from crude oil. In such operations, the residual oil is dissolved in a light hydrocarbon, such as propane, and temperature and pressure conditions are suitably adjusted to separate an oil phase from an asphalt phase, the oil phase after removal of solvent, such as propane, is a desirable catalytic cracking feed stock and may have a reduced metal content which allows it to-be cracked effectively under suitable selected conditions without formationof large amounts of coke. In such operations, however, the catalyst holdup in the catalytic reaction vessel employing a fluidized catalyst which suitably may be silica-alumina in finely divided form, the refractory nature of said stock at cracking temperatures in 'the range between 800 and 1200 F. makes it important not to maintain a large catalyst holdup above the grid plate 17. It is necessary to maintain a seal for the dip leg while reducing the amount of catalyst holdup above the grid plate 17 and heretofore, prior to the present invention, ditficulty was encountered in maintaining such a seal.

The present invention allows the maintenance of a seal at all times while reducing the catalyst holdup above the grid plate 17 to a minimum. .For example, in a commercial catalytic cracking vessel, such as 10, which may handle as much as 55,000 barrels of hydrocarbon feed stock per day, to tons of catalyst in the reactor is a minimum desirable holdup with the major amount of the catalyst in the dense phase. Thus, with a catalyst holdup prior to the present invention of 35 tons per day, the holdup may be reduced by approximately 40% to 60%.

With the present invention it has been found that the catalyst holdup in the reaction vessel may be reduced until the upper level of the dense phase is adjacent the discharge openings 26 to the stripper 16. At this minimum holdup, approximately 12 inches of overlap may exist between the bed level and the bottom of the dip legs, such as 35, 36 and 37. If the bed level, which is generally indicated by numeral 18a, were smooth and level with no turbulence, the 12-inch overlap may be sufiicient to seal the dip leg. However, fluidized beds are very turbulent and anything but level. Thus in accordance with the prior art teachings the dip legs 35, 36 and 37 would not be sealed at all times and it has been commercial practice heretofore, and prior to our invention, to allow a 3-foot overlap to provide submergence for the dip leg at minimum holdup of catalyst in the reaction vessel 10. In accordance with our invention it has been possible to reduce the holdup so that only 12 inches overlap is required. This has been accomplished by providing a substantially quiescent zone on the lower end of each dip leg by surrounding the lower end of each dip leg with a sleeve which allows the catalyst to provide a seal around the lower end of the dip leg. Each sleeve is closed on its lower end to cause the catalyst to impinge against a splash plate and each sleeve has at least one opening adjacent its lower end for flow from the dip leg into the dense phase, the openings being suitably sized to provide a pressure differential from the interior of the sleeve to the dense phase. 7

In order to illustrate the benefits of the present invention further, comparisons were made over nine-month periods wherein operations were conducted at minimum catalyst holdup without the dip leg sealed in accordance with the present invention and after installation of the present apparatus and with the dip leg sealed. The results of these comparisions are presented in the following table:

It will be seen from the foregoing data that before employment of the present apparatus the carryover of catalyst to the fractionator was 6 tons per day which was reduced in accordance with our invention to 1.7 tons per day. The reactor holdup above the grid prior to the present invention Was 35 tons per day which was then reduced to about 20 tons per day.

It is to be noted that the present invention is quite effective in that even with low levels above the dip leg bottom and above the stripper inlet port substantially little catalyst carryover is obtained which certainly is contrary to what might be expected.

It will be clear from the foregoing description and example that a substantially improved and unexpected result has been obtained with the mode of operation and apparatus of the present invention. It is possible to crack refractory stocks at low catalyst holdup without large losses of catalyst into the product. By maintaining a small amount of catalyst in a dense phase, carbon formation is also minimized. The refractory stocks are high carbon producers and also form large amounts of gases, both of ,which are undesirable. The present invention allows the amount of carbon laid down on the catalyst and the undesirable gases formed to be substantially reduced.

While we have given specific examples of the present invention, these are given by way of illustration and not by Way of limitation.

The nature and objects of the present invention having been completely described and illustrated, what we wish to claim as new and useful and to secure by Letters Patent 1s:

1. A method for reducing catalyst losses from a catalytic reaction zone in which finely divided catalyst is suspended in a vaporized refractory hydrocarbon feed in a dense bed under catalytic cracking conditions and in which at least one tangential separation zone for catalyst is arranged in said reaction zone having its catalyst outlet in the lower portion ofsaid dense bed, said suspension flowing from said dense bed at a point in the lower portion of said dense bed adjacent said catalyst outlet, which comprises forming and maintaining a substantially quiescent zone for suspension flowing from said separation zone through said catalyst outlet, said quiescent zone surrounding said catalyst outlet, while reducing the level of said dense bed in said reaction zone to a level just above said point where the suspension flows from said dense bed and just above said catalyst outlet, said quiescent zone being maintained under a sufficient pressure to provide a pressure differential from the quiescent zone to the dense bed, only said suspension flowing into said quiescent zone and from said quiescent zone into said dense bed.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 in which the amount of catalyst in said dense bed is reduced by approximately 40% to 60%.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 in which the refractory hydrocarbon feed is obtained from crude residue.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Progress in Petroleum Technology, American Chemistry Series, pp. 34, 35, August 7, 1951. 

1. A METHOD FOR REDUCING CATALYST LOSSES FROM A CATALYTIC REACTION ZONE IN WHICH FINELY DIVIDED CATALYST IS SUSPENDED IN A VAPORIZED REFRACTORY HYDROCARBON FEED IN A DENSE BED UNDER CATALYTIC CRACKING CONDITIONS AND IN WHICH AT LEAST ONE TANGENTIAL SEPARATION ZONE FOR CATALYST IS ARRANGED IN SAID REACTION ZONE HAVING ITS CATALYST OUTLET IN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID DENSE BED, SAID SUSPENSION FLOWING FROM SAID DENSE BED AT A POINT IN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID DENSE BED ADJACENT SAID CATALYST OUTLET, WHICH COMPRISES FORMING AND MAINTAINING A SUBSTANTIALLY QUIESCENT ZONE FOR SUSPENSION FLOWING FROM SAID SEPARATION ZONE THROUGH SAID CATALYST OUTLET, SAID QUIESCENT ZONE SURROUNDING SAID CATALYST OUTLET, WHILE REDUCING THE LEVEL OF SAID DENSE BED IN SAID REACTION ZONE TO LEVEL JUST ABOVE SAID POINT WHERE THE SUSPENSION FLOWS FROM SAID DENSE BED AND JUST ABOVE SAID CATALYST OUTLET, SAID QUIESCENT ZONE BEING MAINTAINED UNDER A SUFFICIENT PRESSURE TO PROVIDE A PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL FROM THE QUIESCENT ZONE TO THE DENSE BED, ONLY SAID SUSPENSION FLOWING INTO SAID QUIESCENT ZONE AND FROM SAID QUIESCENT ZONE INTO SAID DENSE BED. 